爱称 (àichēng): term of endearment

Meanings

1 term of endearment
2 pet name
3 diminutive

Characters

爱

Examples

"小明"是他的爱称。

"Xiǎo Míng" shì tā de àichēng.

'Little Ming' is his pet name.

夫妻间常常有只属于彼此的爱称。

Fūqī jiān chángcháng yǒu zhǐ shǔyú bǐcǐ de àichēng.

Husbands and wives often have pet names that belong only to each other.

Tips

culture

Common Chinese 爱称 patterns: 小 + name (小明, 'Xiao Ming'), 阿 + name (阿强, 'A-Qiang'), or doubled syllables (明明 'Mingming', 妞妞 'Niuniu'). These contrast with 昵称 (nìchēng), which more broadly covers nicknames including ones that aren't necessarily affectionate.